The Dissection Department's Style

Zhao Yifeng asked calmly:

"Has the background check been completed? What's his mental power reading? What's his assigned post?"

The bespectacled man replied:

"A detailed background check has been done. He's a local, and his maximum mental power reading is only 18—just a bit stronger than an average person, barely passing the threshold. As for the post, he's been assigned to the Dissection Department."

After a pause, the bespectacled man continued:

"The funniest part is that he actually wrote a resignation letter and put it in the Director's mailbox. The content was scanned immediately; he complained a whole lot about the Bureau's regulations. But after his parents left, he snuck back and took the letter. I guess his parents gave him a lecture."

Zhao Yifeng nodded:

"With mental power that weak, assigned to the Dissection Department, he's just an ordinary person. No need to waste time on him."

Mental power does not lie.

Footsteps echoed as the woman in the trench coat returned to the podium and asked in a low voice:

"Director, are you sure you don't want me to conduct a collective polygraph test? There are definitely still fish that slipped through the net."

Zhao Yifeng shook his head, looking at the now-empty venue, and said:

"No need to test the small fry, and you won't catch the big ones anyway. The Anomaly Bureau was established to handle anomalous events; whoever comes, as long as they can contribute, it's fine. Of course, if they have other motives, the Disciplinary Division isn't just sitting around eating for free..."

The bespectacled man and the woman in the trench coat exchanged a glance, and thinking of the Director's true capabilities, they nodded slightly.

"Send those spies we just caught to the Long Sleep. Don't forget to follow the approval procedures. These monsters and demons daring to surface likely means they caught wind of something. That matter needs to be pushed forward as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

At night, the Fuxiang Hotel, not far from the Anomaly Bureau's headquarters, was bustling with noise.

As the second-best hotel on this street, it had been completely booked out tonight by the agents of the Anomaly Bureau Southwest Branch.

To be precise, it had been booked by the various departments of the Support Center.

Each private room was essentially occupied by one department, all holding their welcome banquets.

Of course, the frontline Investigation Department and the political work departments were too proud to come here; their welcome banquets were all held at the top-tier Red Star International Hotel.

In a side room in the corner of the first floor of the Fuxiang Hotel, Li Fan was drinking and chatting with over a dozen agents from the Support Center's Dissection Department.

What he didn't expect was that despite the Dissection Department's low status, he had been given a seat of honor tonight.

The department head, Wu Qian, was a plain-looking middle-aged man with a side-parted hairstyle sitting in the main seat, while the deputy head, Liu Dalong, a burly man built like a butcher, sat in the secondary seat.

Wu Qian raised his glass and clinked it with Li Fan's with a smile:

"Little Li, welcome to our Dissection Department! You're the first fresh blood we've had in over two years! The last time we held a welcome party was two years ago for Little Ke."

Little Ke's full name was Ke Ke, a thin, petite, bespectacled girl with delicate features who was sitting right next to Li Fan.

Wu Qian continued: "Let me introduce you. This is Deputy Head Liu Dalong, this is Brother Zhang Hongbing, Brother Ma Lihua, Sun Da, Hu Zhengqi, Yu Li, Sun Guodong..."

Those introduced immediately greeted Li Fan with smiles, and Li Fan returned the gestures promptly.

Once the introductions were over, Li Fan's slickness from his past life kicked in. He tapped the side of Wu Qian's glass with his own and laughed:

"Thank you, Department Head! I was a bit nervous at first, but I didn't expect to meet a leader as kind and considerate as you, Director Wu. I feel like my future here is bright."

Wu Qian patted Li Fan on the shoulder and laughed to those around him: "Since Little Li said so, I have to drink up!"

With that, he downed his drink in one go.

"Director Wu, Director Liu, seniors, come, let me toast you all as well. I'm new here and don't know much, so I'll need your guidance and care in the future."

Li Fan filled his glass with white liquor, stood up to offer a formal salute, and then downed it in one breath.

His humble behavior immediately won the favor of his colleagues, and everyone raised their glasses to drink heartily.

Li Fan then asked:

"Director Wu, what exactly does our Dissection Department do? Is it very tiring?"

Wu Qian laughed:

"You've probably heard some things. As the name suggests, our main job is to dissect anomalous infected entities and search for mutation data. You can just come to the department at three tomorrow afternoon. I'll have Old Zhang show you the ropes; he'll be your mentor."

Li Fan was stunned, feeling a touch of emotion. This was giving him a half-day off; the department head was quite humane.

He immediately said: "It's fine, Director, I can just start at my normal shift at 8:30."

Deputy Head Liu Dalong burst into laughter upon hearing this, and the rest of the Dissection Department joined in with a roar of laughter.

Liu Dalong laughed until he was gasping for air, saying: "If you show up at 8:30 in the morning, you probably won't find a single soul. Our normal working hours are from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. You won't find anyone if you come early."

Li Fan was even more stunned. What was going on?

Working two hours a day? Entering retirement life early?

Wasn't the Dissection Department supposed to be extremely busy and exhausting?

Seeming to notice Li Fan's confusion, Zhang Hongbing grinned and said:

"Fan, I know you might have heard some rumors outside about our department, saying we're incredibly busy and worked to the bone. Since we're all family now, I won't lie to you—that's all Director Wu... that's all just rumors we spread ourselves! That's how it is in government units; doing more isn't as good as saying more. Even if you're idle, you have to tell people you're busy as hell, otherwise, it's easy to invite gossip."

After listening to Zhang Hongbing's explanation, Li Fan finally understood that the Dissection Department's job was to dissect those anomalous infected entities.

Before these infected entities were sent to the Dissection Department, they had generally been thoroughly researched by the Investigation Department and the Research Department, with any negative contamination or the like already cleared away.

Once they arrived at the Dissection Department, it was nothing more than dissecting them, filing the records, and putting them in the morgue—or sometimes soaking them in formalin.

Basically, once they were dissected and stored, no one bothered with them anymore.

Therefore, the work was not urgent at all.

Furthermore, the Investigation Department had a rather rough style of operation, and the Research Department was quite greedy; many anomalous infected entities were "digested" by those higher-level agencies before they ever reached the Dissection Department.

Sometimes, when work was scarce, the Dissection Department might not receive a single anomalous infected entity for ten days or half a month.

Thus, everyone in the Dissection Department was quite idle.

Even though the salary wasn't very high.

Seeing Wu Qian sitting to the side with a smile on his face, looking completely at ease, Li Fan quickly said:

"Director Wu, to be honest, coming to our department really feels like coming home! I'm so happy! Let me toast everyone again!"

He had originally been thinking about resigning, but now he suddenly felt a sense of being right at home.

It was truly comfortable.

Wasn't this exactly the work environment he wanted?

By slowly grinding toward retirement in this department of collective slacking, he could let the Cleaning Association completely forget the existence of him, the Collector, and he wouldn't have to worry about the Cleaning Association's chairman fearing he would overshadow his master.

He had to remember that he was currently only an intern investigator; just becoming a regular assistant investigator would take at least a year.

How joyful!

It was like someone handing him a pillow just as he felt sleepy!

Li Fan immediately toasted three big glasses in a row.

What surprised him was that this body after his rebirth was exceptionally capable of holding its liquor; he had drunk so much and yet didn't feel the slightest bit tipsy.

The atmosphere at the dinner table gradually reached a climax. Everyone present clinked glasses and downed their drinks, the room overflowing with a lively spirit, and soon everyone was high on alcohol.

Wu Qian was already tipsy. Seeing Li Fan come to toast him again, he straightened his expression, held his glass in one hand, grabbed Li Fan's hand with the other, and said:

"Little Li, I want you to remember one thing. The most important question I think about every day is how to not work, how to persist in slacking off for 30 years without ever being scolded by leaders or clashing with brothers. Mastering that ultimate balance—doing the least amount of work while ensuring you can retreat unscathed—that is my work style, and it is the work style of our department. I hope you take it to heart."

Hearing these heartfelt words from his leader, Li Fan couldn't help but feel a warmth in his heart, his eyes even growing slightly moist.

This was the first time they had met, and he was already speaking from the bottom of his heart!

In his past life, he had dealt with many officials and bosses, and he understood deeply that someone as sincere as Wu Qian was truly rare!

Moreover, having experienced all sorts of unimaginable things today, he was now able to relax in this atmosphere.

He said emotionally:

"Director Wu, rest assured, I will definitely live up to your instructions and carry forward our department's work style!"

Afterward, he went around the table with his glass again. Li Fan's tongue finally felt a bit thick when his phone suddenly rang.

The caller ID showed an empty number.

Li Fan picked up his phone and, swaying slightly, walked outside the private room and pressed the answer button.

"...Sha... shasha... zhi--sha..."

First came a stretch of eerie white noise, and after a moment, a hoarse voice suddenly spoke:

"...You did well... shasha... you avoided the Anomaly Bureau's trap... sha... the Cuckoo Project will continue... sha... await further instructions..."